


a beating heart's lies

by janetcarter



Category: Babylon 5
Genre: F/M, Introspection, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-16 22:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21278648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janetcarter/pseuds/janetcarter
Summary: Sheridan doesn't think he's any different now that he's back from Z'ha'dum, but he can't pretend forever.





	a beating heart's lies

He’d grown up with the old films. A black and white flickering screen was the only thing standing between him and the undead. The screams were so shrill they nearly blasted the microphones used to record them, shrouding the final product in static. Those films and shows had been colorized and remastered decades prior, but there was an odd thrill to watching them as humans of the past once did. Modernizing them felt like taking a corpse, long at rest, and sewing on new flesh. A fresh coat of paint would never mask the long journey it’s taken since its creation, and sometimes… the original version really was best.

He didn’t realize the weight of such a statement until the October after Z’ha’dum. He’d gotten used to the stares, the criticisms, and the claims that something wasn’t quite right in his head. If he ignored them enough, he was able to believe he was as good as new; just about, anyway. A few bumps and bruises didn’t disqualify him from humankind, nor did the perspective one could only get by living to tell the tale of their own death. 

For just one night of normalcy in the recent chaos, he wanted to introduce Delenn to a few classic horror films. They rarely got to spend time together anymore, and it’d help her understand a bit more about human culture. (Also, he just really wanted to show her his favorites.) 

She wasn’t scared like he thought she might be. Hell, she could barely take her gleaming eyes off the screen. Instead, it was him experiencing an uneasiness uncharacteristic of someone who knew the jump-scares and gruesome effects by heart. 

When a rigid hand emerged from its grave, soulless body pulling itself up as if it belonged in the world of the living… it hit him like a starfury slamming into earth. 

The dead were better off in their graves. 


End file.
